The time span between Aadam and Nooh, may Allaah exalt their mention

8-11-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

Authenticity and Understanding of this hadith? Most of the time atheist question about time period of existence of Adam and other Prophets. The apparently human fossils found can be date back to 200,000 years back. So can how we understand this hadith according to according modern knowledge: The period between Adam and Nooh (peace be upon them both): it was narrated from Abu Umaamah that a man said: “O Messenger of Allaah, was Adam a Prophet?” He said, “Yes, and Allaah spoke to him.” The man asked, “How much (time) was there between him and Nooh?” He said, “Ten centuries.” Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan in his Saheeh, 14/69; and by al-Haakim, 2/262. He said it is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim, and al-Dhahabi agreed with him. Ibn Katheer said in al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah (1/94): this is (saheeh) according to the conditions of Muslim. The period between Nooh and Ibraaheem (peace be upon them both): our evidence is in the continuation of the hadeeth of Abu Umaamah (may Allaah be pleased with him) quoted above: … He said, “And how long was there between Nooh and Ibraaheem?” He said, “Ten centuries.” (Narrated by al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak, 2/288. He said: this hadeeth is saheeh according to the conditions of Muslim, although he did not narrate it. And it was narrated by al-Tabaraani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer, 8/118. It was reported that some of the narrators of this hadeeth were da’eef (weak), but al-Albaani classed it as saheeh on the basis of corroborating reports. I am more concerned about the second hadith. I want to know about chain of this hadith? What other scholars said about its sanad and authenticity? Also how can we understand word Qurn(which is translated here as century) ? Does century here means normal 100 years or very long period of time? A brother said these are highly disputed ahadith and another Brother said any narration is stats in time are usually from Isra'iliyat. http://www.ahl-elathar.net/vb/showthread.php?t=7431
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

 

This Hadeeth is authentic. Our dear questioner cited its authentication from a group of scholars, namely Ibn Hibbaan, Al-Haakim, Ath-Thahabi, Ibn Katheer and Al-Albaani; and they are quite sufficient! Al-Haythami said: “It was reported by At-Tabaraani and its chain of narrators meets the criteria of Al-Bukhari and Muslim, except for Ahmad ibn Khulayd Al-Halabi, and he is trustworthy.” Ibn Hajar may Allaah have mercy upon him reported in Fat-h Al-Baari that it was authenticated by Ibn Hibbaan without further comments.

As for the meaning of the Hadeeth, scholars have held different opinions regarding it. Al-Haafith Ibn Katheer may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Qasas Al-Anbiyaa': "Ibn ‘Abbaas narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “The period between Aadam (Adam) and Nooh (Noah) was ten Quroon (pl. of Qarn), all of which followed Islam.” [Al-Bukhari] So, if what is meant by Qarn is one hundred years, which is the first meaning that comes to mind for most people, then the period between them was definitely one thousand years. However, if what is meant by Qarn is a 'generation' as is the case in the following Quranic verses (which mean):

·   {And how many have We destroyed from the Quroon (generations) after Noah…} [Quran 17:17]

·   {Then We produced after them a Qarn (generation) of others.} [Quran 23:31]

·   {…and many Quroon (generations) between them.} [Quran 25:38]

·   {And how many have We destroyed before them of Qarn (generation)?...} [Quran 19:98]

and like the statement of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: “The best of Quroon (generations) is my Qarn (generation)…” (as the generation before Nooh used to live for quite long), then accordingly the period between Aadam and Nooh would be thousands of years.” Allaah Knows best." [End quote]

Also, Ibn Al-Atheer may Allaah have mercy upon him said in "An-Nihaayah": "Qarn is the people of every age. It is the average lifespan of the people of every age. It is taken from the Arabic word Iqtiraan (association). So it seems to refer to how people of that time are associated with each other in terms of their ages and circumstances. It was also said that a Qarn is forty years, or eighty years, or one hundred years, or an indefinite period of time."

Professor Hammood Ar-Ruhayli quoted this in his research Manhaj Al-Quran Al-Kareem fi Da‘wat Al-Mushrikeen ila Al-Islam, and said: “What I am inclined to believe is that Qarn means a generation of people.”

For more benefit, kindly refer to Fatwa 223153.

As for the issue of human fossils dating back to 200,000 years, if this is proved, then it is not problematic, because we do not claim to know the time when Aadam was created or how long ago he was sent down to the earth, especially if we interpret the Hadeeth according to the second interpretation stated by Ibn Katheer may Allaah have mercy upon him.

Moreover, some scholars view that the ten centuries/generations between Aadam and Nooh, may Allaah exalt their mention, refers only to the centuries/generations of Tawheed (i.e. worshipping Allaah alone without associating partners with Him). Professor ‘Umar Al-Ashqar may Allaah have mercy upon him said in his book, Al-‘Aqeedah fi Allaah: “The period between them may be longer than that because Ibn ‘Abbaas specified those ten generations as those that followed the religion of Islam (which is the religion of all Prophets), and this does not negate that there were other generations between them when people were not following the religion of Islam.”

Allaah Knows best.

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